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OBITUARY ADDRESSES 




©ccasion of %% Bcatb 



GEN. JAMES HAMILTON, 



OF SOUTH CAKOLINA, 



D E L I V E K E D IN T 11 LI 



Supreme eowrt, Senate aii^ foiisc iof gtpresenlatiiics 



STATE OF TEXAS. 



When the bright guardians op a country die, 
The grateful tear in tenderness will start; 

And the keen anguish of a reddening eye 
Disclose the deep affliction of the heart." 



AUSTIN: 

PlllNTED BY JOHX MARSHALL & CO., STATE PRINTERS. 
1857. 



^•.j , 



Jji^o^. •-> A^|/vii,vv^ CoaaJ: 



OBITUARY ADDRESSES 



OCCASION OF THE DEATH 



y 



(§mri larats lamilton, 



OF SOXJTH O^A-KOXillsT-A., 



DELIVERED IN THE 



SUPREME COURT, SENATE MD BOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



STATE OF TEXAS 



AUSTIN: 

PRINTED BY JOHN MARSHALL & CO., STATE PRINTERS. 
1857. 



#l)itaarg %)ikmt&. 



SUPEEME COURT ROOM OF TEXAS, 
Thursday, November 26th, 1857. 

Ou opening the Court, Mr. T. N. Waal announced the intelligence 
of the death of Gen. James Hamiltox, and moved that the Court 
adjourn. 

Mr. WAUL said. 

May it Please the Court : Since the adjournment last 
evening, the mournful intelligence of the death of Gen. James 
Hamilton, of South Carolina, has cast its sorrowful shadow 
over this city. 

The Governor of the State, by special message — the Sen- 
ate and the House of Representatives, by resolutions, have 
expressed their grief for his loss, and their deep sympathies for 
his bereaved family. The sad duty has devolved upon me to 
suggest some appropriate testimonial from the Supreme Court 
of the State. 

Your presence, sir, as Chief Justice, long his personal friend — 
our early association in the same State — renew the memories 
of past years. The dead seem alive, and Gen. Hamilton as 
he was in 1830, appears in vigorous manhood, gifted in person 
and intellect, persuasive, eloquent, and earnest : he was in 
every sense of the word an orator. Generous in thought, word 



and action — of unsullied honor, he was the embodiment of 
self-sacriiicing patriotism. Chosen in the hour of her great- 
est peril, he was without contest, without a riva,l, the favorite 
of South Carolina. 

A fit leader of a gallant State, his genial nature clustered 
around him the affection, the idolatry of the young men of 
the land. Knowing that his tall plume would ever wave in 
the front, they were ready to follow against the combined forces 
of the Greneral Government. 

"Theirs not to reasou why, 
Theirs not to make rej.ly, 
Theirs but to do and die." 

Happily designated by John Kandolph as the "Bayard of 
the South. He combined all that in the days of the tourna- 
ment would have made him the mirror of knighthood — a cheva- 
lier "without fear and without blame." 

With a devotion for his native State, remarkable in her sons, 
pre-eminent in him, he was ever the champion of the oppressed, 
the friend of freedom throughout the world. 

He saw much similarity between the contest of South Car- 
olina with the General Government and the struggles of Texas 
for liberty, and a violated Constitution against the hordes that 
would crush and overwhelm her ; and when by the ever-to-be 
remembered achievement at San Jacinto, the power of the 
usurper was broken, and Texas was ready to assume her place 
among the nations of the earth — when from her desolated fields 
and plundered villages there rushed up a cry for succor and 
sympathy. South Carolina presented a most strange and un- 
natural spectacle. Her stern Executive, instead of proposing 
aid and comfort, heaped censure and invective upon the motives 
and character of our gallant people. 

Gen. Hamilton had not arrived to take his scat in the Sen- 
ate when the message was sent to the two Houses. Before the 
action of both Houses was had — from his place in the Senate — 
he introduced resolutions replete with sympathy and approba- 
tion, of tlie course of our youthful RepuDlic. By his eloquence, 
his in^uence — and above all, by the confidence that the people 



had in his judgmeut and huaor, he rolled back the wave that 
otherwise would have overwhelmed his State with an obloqu)'^ 
that centuries could not remove. 

It was Eoland again sounding his horn. The sluggish were 
aroused, and again the chivalry of South Carolina rallied 
around their old Chief. The resolutions and the fair fame of 
the State were sustained. 

Nor was Texas unmindful of her friend. By resolution he 
was made a citizen of the Kepublic. 1 lie command of her 
armies was tendered, and although circumsta,nces prevented his 
accepting the commission, he never forgot her generosity. — 
His lofty character and able advocacy gave Texas at once a 
position no other man could effect. He aided in negotiating 
her treaties, and embarked in her cause — he periled his for- 
tune to sustain her credit. 

No one who has known Gen. Hamilton only for the last 
few years, entangled with pecuniary difficulties, could prop- 
erly estimate his distinguishing qualities. 

But he is no more. On a visit to our State, a victim in the 
late collision on the Gulf of Mexico, he sank beneath its 
waters. Kever did they close over a purer heart — a brighter 
spirit never ascended from its wave. 

Attorney-General WILLIE remarked: 

May it please your Honors — I trust that the Court 
will readily assent to the motion just offered. Such a course 
will be nothing more than a proper tribute of respect to one 
who was identified with eventful transactions in the history of 
the late Republic. Gen. Hamilton negotiated important treaties 
as the representative of the Government of Texas. In every 
position he was called to fill, his zeal, fidelity and ability were 
strikingly displayed. 

An adopted citizen of the State by special act of Congress, 
he received the highest honor ever conferred by the Republic 
upon one not resident within her borders. He was appointed 



~\ 



a Major General in her service, and invited to take command 
of her armies. 

Tliis is not tlie time, nor is it my intention, to speak of the 
eventful life or important services of the deceased. They are 
known throughout the land. One prominent trait of mind and 
heart so distinguished the character of Greneral Hamilton that 
it is worthy to be here noticed. Patriotism glowed in his bosom 
more warmly than any other feeling. This led him to stake 
life and fortune in the cause of his native State against aggres- 
sive acts of the General Government. He was the masterspirit 
of the " times which tried men's souls" — 

" When shrunk the timid and stood still the brave." 

Of the policy of his course doubts may exist ; none exist, 
however, as to the purity of his motives. It may be well if 
every Southern State, in some dark hour of peril, not beyond 
the possibility of happening, shall be able to command the ser- 
vices of an equally devoted champion. This same controlling 
virtue made him the friend and constant, though often much 
abused defender and advocate of her interests. 

As one of the men who left the impress of his public course 
upon the times, as a citizen of the State, ever ready to serve 
her, General Hamilton well deserves this mark of respectful 
recollection. 

Chief Justice HEMPHILL replied: 

With emotions of profound sorrow we receive the announce- 
ment of the death of General James Hamilton ; and most 
cordially do we unite in the feeling, affectionate, and eloquent 
tributes that have been paid to his character and memory. — 
With truth may he be said to have been one of the brightest 
emanations of creative intelligence and power. With tran- 
scendent genius — with a soul glowing with all the finer sensi- 
bilities of our nature — with generosity, courage, firmness, elo- 
quence, enthusiasm — with a passionate devotion to his coun- 
try and to liberty — with purity and magnanimity of motive — 
with the finest combination of the higher faculties of thougrht 



and action — his was, indeed, "a composition and a form where 
every god did seem to set his seal," and gave assurance to the 
world that this was a man. 

Gen. Hamilton's ancestors were connected with the proud- 
est events of the Revolution. His maternal uncle, Thomas 
Lynch, Jr., was one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and his father, as a commander of a regiment in the 
Continental line, was highly distinguished in many important 
engagements of the Revolution. His noble son, in the war of 
1812, served with signal ability on the staff of Gen. Izard, on 
the Canada frontier. On the return of peace, he pursued his 
profession as Attorney-at-Law for some short period, but was 
soon transferred to public office. 

On the resignation and death of William Lowndes — a name 
dear to his own State and to the Nation— Gen. Hamilton 
was elected to the House of Representatives of the United 
States, where he soon greatly distinguished himself in debate, 
and became one of the most influential of the leaders of that 
body. He delivered a powerful speech in opposition to the 
tariff of 1824, and he was among the foremost, if not the 
leader of the opposition during the administration of Mr. 
Adams, and largely contributed to its overthrow. 

The tariff of 1828 filled the measure of oppression on the 
commercial and agricultural interests of the Union, and Gen. 
Hamilton announced his intention to abandon his seat in 
Congress, determined to resist at home, that stupendous system 
of fraud and iniquity; and he boldly uttered to his constituents 
the startling announcement that it was the imperative duty of 
South Carolina to resist, at all and every hazard. In 1829, 
the relation between him and President Jackson were of a 
friendly character, and he was tendered high office, which he 
declined. Being subsequently elected Governor of the State, 
he was the animating genius of the gallant resistance of that 
State to oppression against the most fearful odds ever, perhaps, 
encountered in the struggles of any people to preserve or con- 
quer their liberties. This controversy and its triumphant, 



mWJBJtmUMtfHiajJlK gJ 



though bloodless issue, are emblazoned on the pages of history. 
I shall not enter into its character. Of the brilliant constel- 
lation of the illustrious men which shone in the political sphere 
in that struggle, the subject of this notice had qualities and 
endowments which peculiarly fitted him as the great leader in 
the crisis. He had that high executive ability — those superior 
faculties for action which control the minds of men, inspire 
confidence, and designate him for the chief command in the 
troubles and perils of revolution. After the close of this fear- 
ful controversy. Gen. Hamilton was in public life in the Sen- 
ate of the State in 1836. With deep sympathy — with painfnl 
anxiety, but with confiding trust in the spirit and energies of 
freemen, did he watch the terrific conflict between the handful 
of Texians and the millions of our enemies. He saw that the 
Federal form of the Mexican Government had been overthrown 
— that despotism in a central form was established — that we 
had no alternative but to crouch beneath the oppressor, or to 
battle for our lives and liberties. 

What was his astonishment to hear from his friend of many 
years standing, the gifted McDufiie, whose soul was touched as 
with a live coal from the altar of Liberty, but who, perhaps, im- 
mersed in the struggles and interests of his own State, was in 
total ignorance of the history of Texas — the character of our 
struggle, the grandeur and purity of its motive, or its immense 
results upon the affairs of this continent, in his last message, 
the declaration that the insurgents of Texas were not entitled 
to sympathy or recognition, and with epithets of opprobrium, 
that we had forfeited all claims to fraternal regard, and de- 
served our destiny. 

No one in the Legislature was found willing to repel this 
attack. In fact, the views of his Excellency were sanctioned 
in a short report from the House of Representatives. But on 
Gen. Hamilton's arrival, (he having been detained at the com- 
mencement of the session,) the darkness and ignorance which 
had enveloped the subject were dispelled. 

As Chairman of the Committee on Federal Eelations in the 
Senate, he di*ew up a report vindicating the conduct of Texas 



9 

and explaining the characteristics of the struggle. This was 
supported by a speech ; and in that rich, exuberant, glowing 
style, of which he was the finest master, he depicted the des- 
potism and barbarity of the foe, and pronounced an eulogium 
upon the character of the heroes of thirty-six, their chivalric 
bravery in battle, and their humanity to the enemy after defeat, 
which even at this day will thrill every heart in which there is 
the least feeling for either Humanity or Liberty. 

The delusion vanished. The Report was adopted, and the 
State of South Carolina was relieved, as has been eloquently 
remarked, from a stigma which tVould have been a foul blot on 
the bright escutcheon of her fame. 

Texas was not ungrateful, and the Command-in-Chief was 
shortly afterwards offered to Gen, Hamilton, which he de- 
clined from considerations honorable to himself and to the 
Republic. 

He was enrolled by special Act as one of the citizens of the 
Republic. His services to this Government were of the most 
important character. At the commencement of the revolu- 
tion, he assisted in forwarding supplies and ammunition. He 
procured large sums of money to be advanced to enable the 
impoverished Government to send a Minister to France, to 
procure the recognition of our Independence. He negotiated 
the only par loan of any magnitude ever effected for Texas. — 
And by his great name, the weight of his character, his untir- 
ing energy, and superior diplomatic abilities, rendered the 
most important aid in procuring the acknowledgment of our 
Independence by some of the principal powers of Europe ; and 
he negotiated treaties with Great Britain, the Netherlands and 
Belgium, He advanced large sums of his own money to pur- 
chase a marine steamer for our defence in the darkest hour of 
our Revolution. He can never be forgotten by Texas, the 
hearts of whose people cannot disregard great public services. 
Among all her noble citizens, there is not one who has made 
greater sacrifices or who has served the State with a more 
pure, a more zealous or earnest devotion. His body lies en- 

B 



10 

gulfed in tlio ocean ; but his name — his great deeds — his 
iUustrious example, and the memory of his exalted virtues 
remain. His fame is burnished on the proudest page of his- 
tory, and will endure as long as history itself shall survive. — 
He was endowed with the finest social qualities. His Avas the 
heart to charm and to be beloved by all with whom he had 
intercourse. To the beautiful proprieties of his domestic rela- 
tions — the love, tenderness, and affection which, as with a 
halo, encircled his family, we shall not allude. In the depth 
and anguish of their afiliction, that circle is sacred, and shall 
not be invaded. • 

With pleasure, mingled with sorrow, we order these pro- 
ceedings to be entered in the Minutes of the Court, and that 
a copy be forwarded to the surviving widow and family. 



Ill tlje Btirate of tljc Side of ^m%, 

NOVEMBER 25th, 1857. 



Besolved, That in the resolution ordering the Committee on 
printing to arrange with the like Committee of the House of 
Representatives for the publication of the resolutions of both 
Houses and the proceedings of the Supreme Court, upon the 
the death of Gen. Hamilton, it was the intention of the Sen- 
ate to have one thousand copies for the use of the Senate, the 
House of Representatives to have what number it might re- 
quire, and that the Governor's Message upon the same subject 
be printed with said resolutions ; adopted. 



|eatjj of §m. ^mm Ijamiton. 



EXECUTIVE OFFICE, ) 
Austin, November 25th, 1857. j 

GrENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE, 

and House of Representatives : 
The melancholy intelligence, has just been received in this 
City of the death of Gen. James Hamilton, who was lost on 
the steamship Opelousas, in the Gulf of Mexico, on her pas- 
sage from New Orleans to Galveston. The deceased was one 
of the first who raised his voice in our behalf, in the commence- 
ment of our Revolutionary struggle, and his services and means 
were lavishly given to our cause, both before and after he be- 
came a citizen of the Republic. His high standing and influ- 
ence in the world, contributed much to the successful issue of 
our Revolution. Texas claimed him as a citizen, and ranked 
him as one of her greatest benefactors. She mourns his un- 
timely fate, and will cherish his memory with veneration. 

E. M. PEASE. 



SENATE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, 
Wednesday, November 25th, 1857. 



The Governor's Message having been read, Mr. L. T. Wigfall 
moved the adoption of the following resolutions : 

Resolved, That this body has received with profound sensi- 
bility, the annunciation of the death of Gen. James Hamilton 
of South Carolina. His death is a calamity not only to the 
Nation and his own State but also to the State of Texas. He 
was the bold and powerful advocate of Texas in her dark and 
bloody struggle with the almost imperial power of Mexico. 
When the heroic spirits of '36 were treated with opprobium, 
and as having forfeited all claims to the fraternal regards of the 
people of the United States, he then in his place in the Senate 
of South Carolina, with thoughts that breathed and words that 
burned with living fire, repelled the imputations on the purity 
and honor of our motives — and in the light of such eloquence 
and truth gave such elevation to our controversy as to challenge 
the admiration of the world — and to change indifference into 
friendship and enthusiasm. For his services on that memora- 
ble occasion, he was offered by Texas the chief command of her 
army. His genius, his pre-eminent abilities, his high character 
and enthusiastic devotion to the interests of the country, illus- 
trated and adorned the various exalted civil trusts with which 
he was honored by the Kepublic. As our Minister he secured 
a treaty with Great Britain, the most powerful nation on the 



14 

Globe, He also negotiated a treaty with the Kingdom of 
the Netherlands, and rendered many other signal services with 
hieh honor to himself and to the benefit of the Nation which 
he represented. By special act of Congress he was vested with 
the rights of citizenship, and he ranks very high among the 
eminent and illustrious of her citizens. 

Besolved, That this body will manifest its respect for the 
memory of the deceased, by wearing the usual badge of mourn- 
ing — and that a copy of these proceedings be transmitted to 
the ftimily of the deceased, and that the Senate now adjourn 
till Friday the 27th inst., 10 o'clock A. M. 

The resolutions having been read, 
Mr. WIGFALL said : 

Custom sanctions and reason dictates that on an extraor- 
dinary occasion like the present, a brief recital should be made 
of the prominent political acts and peculiar mental and moral 
organization of the individual whose sudden death has cast 
such gloom over the community, as we see around. To die is 
the lot of man. Of dust we are made and to dust we shall 
return. Why then is it proposed that for a time the wheels 
of Grovernment shall stand still ? A mighty man has fallen 
in Israel. It was the sentiment of a soldier, that what might 
happen at any moment was not worth a moment's considera- 
tion. This sentiment, though it may startle ihe imagination 
and challenge the admiration of infidel recklessness, jars harsh- 
ly upon the ear of christian thoughtfulness, and offers no guide 
or standard of moral courage. It is true, nevertheless, that the 
manner or moment of death should and will be a matter of in- 
difierence to one whose every moment of life has been the sub- 
ject of a careful and conscientious consideration. The illus- 
trious subject of these Eesolutions was a living and dying 
embodiment of the latter idea. Scrupulously careful of the 
manner of his life, he was daringly indilferent as to the moment 
of his death. Daringly and generously indifferent — " Save 
yourself and child," he exclaimed, and submitted himself to 



15 

the care of Him in whose hands are the winds and the waves.* 
He sank like the sun, leaving an atmosphere of light behind 
him. The sentiment was that of a christian and a soldier. It 
would have illustrated a w^hole age of chivalry. His body to 
the sea — his soul to the God who gave it, and his example to 
mankind. Whilst to the thoughtless admirer of this great 
man, it may be a matter of regret that he did not wing his way 
to the abodes of bliss from some hard fought field, with the 
shouts of victory in his ear, sealing with his life blood the lib- 
erties of his country, to the reflecting it cannot but be a 
matter of gratification that the world has not lost the example 
of such sublime moral courage and self-sacrificing generosity 
as are shown in those simple words — " Save yourself and child.'' 
Upon the fiercely fought field, when the blood is hot, 

" Where many a banner has been torn, 
" And many a knight to earth been borne, 

passion sometimes supplies the place of courage, arnd blind 

excitement is often mistaken for lofty patriotism. At such 

moments, when the eyes of an admiring world are fixed upon a 

great military leader — one who holds in his hands the destinies 

of that world, and sees the historian ready to record his slightest 

word — we expect and are not startled at the exhibition of great 

deeds, generous sentiments, and reckless daring. The actor 

speaks to posterity, and has a world for an audience. But when 

the right hand doeth what the left knoweth not of — then it is 

that nature is displayed, and the man stands forth as he is. It 

is only then that the ring of the true metal is heard. Amid 

the wild waste of waters, with no witness but a helpless woman, 

and her more helpless child — who would tell the tale of his 

generosity ? Together they would, probably, all sink to rise 

no more. How miserably mean and cold-bloodly selfish ap- 



* In regard to the loss of Gen. Hamilton, Mr. Wood states that a rescued lady 
passenger told him that as she was leaving the cabin just before the ship sunk, 
an elderly gentleman came out of a state-room with a life-preserver in his hand 
and begged her to help him put it on, as one of his hands was crooked and use- 
less. She replied that she had her child to look after, and could not stop. He 
then said, " Go, madam, for God's sake, and save yourself and child." From the 
description the lady gave of the old man, Mr. Wood is confident that it was the 
General, and that the words addressed by him to the lady were his last on earth. 

(Galveston News.) 



16 

pears the "let him win his spurs," of the Great Edward of 
England, when, at Cressy, Lord Chandos, crying- for help, told 
him that " the Black Prince was down," in contrast with those 
simple hut suhlime words of the greater Carolinian, "Save 
yourself and child." 

He is dead. His example can never die. He was the con- 
necting link hot ween the "gentlemen of the old school" of his 
own loved Carolina and those of the present day. May we 
not hope that by the manner of his death he may call hack 
this money-making, utilitarian age, to something of sentiment 
and high purpose, and thus make again the land of his na- 
tivity, a land of chivalry. 

The subject of these remarks was a patriot by inheritance. 
His mother's father drafted the "Address" of the Colonial 
Congress to the British Commons on the subject of the "Stamp 
Act." His mother's brother signed the "Declaration of Inde- 
pendence." His father was an officer of high rank in the Con- 
tinental Line. The blood of patriots, statesmen, and soldiers 
coursed through his veins. It ran through no unworthy chan- 
nel. Educated for the Bar, he had entered upon his profession 
and had already risen to eminence, when the second war of In- 
dependence broke out. He abandoned the law and entered the 
Army. His Kegiment was stationed at the South — the fight- 
ing was at tlie North. His new profession gave no promise of 
a pleasure without the peril of a grave. A few months found 
him a volunteer on the Northern frontier, where, upon the 
staff of the Commanding General, he rose from the rank of 
Lieutenant to that of Major, in consequence of his gallantry 
and good conduct. Upon the return of peace, when he had to 
leave the field for the fort, and could no longer mingle in the 
fierce foray, 

" Where the battle wreck lies thickest, 
And death's brief pang is quickest," 

he again abandoned his profession. His great spirit could not 
be immured within the walls of a gan'ison to rust with his 
sTieathed blade. With him as with the great soldier of old, 
"war was a sport fit for the gods ;" and when waged in de- 



17 

fence of the rights of his country, it made " ambition virtue." 
Upon the death of William Lowndes, who declined becoming 
a candidate for the Presidency on the ground that it was "a 
place neither to be sought nor declined," he was called by the 
constituents of that patriot and statesman to fill his place, 
though not residing in the Congressional District. Could such 
a compliment have been paid but to such a man ? In 1824, 
in his great speech upon the Tariff, he foreshadowed his faith 
in State action as a cure for Federal aggression. During the 
administration of the younger Adams, he was the acknow- 
ledged leader of the opposition, and no man contributed more 
to the election of Gen. Jackson. But while Mr. Calhoun* 
and others looked to this election with confident hope, his 
keener sagacity caused him to doubt. Yet he was willing to 
make the experiment and await the result. In native swords 
and native ranks his greatest hope of freedom dwelt. Accord- 
ingly when the "Bill of Abominations" passed in 1828, he 



* Extract from "The Exposition and Protest" of the South Carolina 
Legislature — 1828 — written by Mr. dalhoun. 

" That there exists a case which would justify the interposition of this State, 
and thereby compel the General Government to abandon an unconstitutional 
power, or to make an appeal to the amending power to confer it by express 
grant, the committee does not in the least doubt ; and they are equally clear in 
the existence of a necessity to justify its exercise, if the General Government 
should continue to persist in its improper assumption of powers belonging to the 
States ; which brings them to the last point which they propose to consider. 
When would it be proper to exercise this high power ? If they were to judge 
only by the magnitude of the interest, and urgency of the case, they would, 
without hesitation, recommend the exercise of this power without delay. But 
they deeply feel the obligation of respect for the other members of the Confede- 
racy, and of great moderation and forbearance in the exercise, even of the most 
unquestionable right, between parties who stand connected by the closest and 
most sacred political union. With these sentiments, they deem it advisable, after 
presenting the views of the Legislature in this solemn manner, to allow time 
for further consideration and reflection, in the hope that a returning sense of 
justice on the part of the majority, when they come to reflect on the wrongs 
which this and other staple States have suft'ered and are 8ufi"ering, may repeal 
the obnoxious and unconstitutional Acts, and thereby prevent the necessity of 
interposing the sovereign power of this State. 

" The committee is further induced at this time to take this course, under the 
hope that the great political revolution which will displace from power, on the 
4th of March next, those who acquired authority by setting the will of the 
people at defiance, and which will bring in an eminent citizen,* distinguished 
for his services to his country, and his justice and patriotism, may be followed 
up under his influence with a complete restoration of the pure principles of our 
government." 

* General Jackson. 

C 



18 

expressed his determination to retire from Congress and orga- 
nize opposition at liome. A place in Gren. Jackson's cabinet 
at the head of the War Department, or a foreign Mission, were 
both witliin his grasp. Federal office offered to him no induce- 
ment as a price for principle. In his great Walterborough 
speech, made that year, he lor the hrst time in South Carolina 
exhumed the Kentucky and Virginia Kesolutions, which had 
been buried and lost sight of for more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury ; and presented to the astonished gaze of the people the 
short but sure remedy of the last resort — Nullification. He 
avowed the Jeffersonian doctrine,* but did not advise the ap- 
plication except^in the last resort. 

. Injustice, I feel, would be done to this great man and pure 
patriot, did I not recapitulate briefly the facts and circum- 
stances attending the formation of the party of which he was, 
if not the head, the very soul, spirit, and embodiment. In 
1816, when the War Tariff had to be reformed, a heav}^ war 
debt was overhanging the country. Under the embargo and 
non-intercourse Acts and the War Tariff, many manufactures 
had sprung up in the country. The advocates of the war were 
for a speedy payment of the debt and protection of the man- 
ufactures which then- measures had brought into existence. 
The Bill of '16 revived an average duty of 25 per cent., to be 
reduced to 20 per cent, in 1820. For it Lowndes, Calhoun, 
Barbour, Crawford and others of their party voted. It was to 
protect the manufactures already in existence and pay off" tlie 
debt. Ke venue was the object — protection the incident. In 



* Extract from original draft of Kentucky Resolutions by Mr. Jefferson. 

" That if those who administer the General Government, be permitted to 
transgress the limits fixed by that compact, (the Constitution,) by a total dis- 
regard of the special delegations of power therein contained, an annihilation of 
the State governments, and a creation upon their ruins of a general consolidated 
government, will be the inevitable consequence. 

" Thnt the principle and construction contended for, by sundry of the State 
Legislatures, that the General Government is the exclusive judge of the extent 
of the powers delegated to it, stops nothing short of Despotism ; since the dis- 
cretion of those who administer the government, and not the Constitution, would 
be the measure of their powers. 

" That the several States who formed that instrument, being sovereign and in- 
dependent, have the un(]uestionahle right to judge of the infraction ; and tliat a 
NULLiFKATiON, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under 
color of that instrument, is the rightful remedy." 



19 

1820 the Tariff was increased, and the "American System" 
inaugurated for the avowed purpose of building up manufac- 
tures in the country. In '24 a " Committee on BTanufactures " 
was for the first time raised, and a Bill still increasing the 
duties reported by them, Mr. Todd, the chairman, openly 
and distinctly avowed, on the floor of Congress, that the bill 
was not for revenue ; but for the purpose of preventing all 
foreign importation that would interfere with home production. 
It Vv*as on this occasion that the speech first alluded to was 
made. In 1828 another increase was made, and again in 1832, 
when the payment of the public debt had been provided for. 
The Bill of '32 was declared by its advocates to be a final ad- 
justment, and the American people were congratulated that 
the "American System" was the settled policy of the Govern- 
ment. Previous to this time, a most stupendous system of 
"internal improvements" had been carried on, for the double 
purpose of absorbing the surplus revenue and bribing the sec- 
tions of country which were not interested in manufactures, by 
disbursement. The mawkish sensibilities of philanthropists 
were enlisted by appropriations to the colonization societies, 
and a plan seriously set on foot for using the surplus revenue, 
after the payment of the debt, by purchasing slaves, to be sent 
to Liberia. The Bill of '32 gave a revenue of half the amount 
of the importations upon which it was levied, and double the 
amount necessary for an economical and constitutional admini- 
stration of the government. The entire South had denounced 
the "American System" as unconstitutional and ruinous to 
their interests. Mr. Jefferson, in a Report prepared in 1825 
for the Virginia Legislature, uj)on the Tariff of '24, had 
declared that the Union was about to be destroyed by consoli- 
dation, and that while disunion by a separation of the States 
would be "among the greatest of calamities — it would not be 
the greatest." Greater than this would be the consolidation 
of the government by the exercise of powers never granted. '•'■■ 



* " They know and value too highly the blessings of their Union as to foreign 
nations and questions arising among themeelveg, to consider every infraction as 



20 

Gen. Jackson, in his first and second annual messages, admit- 
ted the impossibility of reducing the Tariff, and advised as a 
remedy a distribution of the sm'plus revenue among the States.* 
These were the circumstances under which South Carolina 
"ordained and decreed," in her sovereign capacity, that the 
Tariffs of '28 and '32 should not be, after the 1st day of Feb- 
ruary, 1833, enforced within her borders. 

In 1830, despairing of any relief from the action of the 
Federal Government, he returned home and was elected Gov- 
ernor. The position of Gen. Jackson disarmed and disor- 
ganized the resistance party in most of the Southern States, 
Patriotism melted beneath the blighting influence of party as 
frost under the scorching rays of the sun. Betrayed, traduced, 
misrepresented, and denounced by those whose interests were 
equally involved in the issue, he faltered not in that trying 
time, in that day of darkness and of danger. To South Caro- 
lina he looked, and to her people he appealed, A Thermopylae 
she might be made, and yet the liberties of his country be 
saved. He determined to cling to the pillars of the Temple 
of the Constitution, though it might fall, and he perish amid 
the ruins. Better, far better, that the land of his love and of 



to be met by actual i-esistance. They respect too affectionately the opinions of 
those possessing the same rights under the same instrument, to make every dif- 
ference a ground of rupture. They would indeed consider such a rupture as 
among the greatest calamities which could befall them; hut not thr greatest. 
There is yet one greater, .submission to a government of unlimited 
POWERS." (Declaration and Protest of the Commonwealth of Virginia — drawn 
by Mr. Jefferson, in 1825.) 

* "After the extinction of the public debt it is not probable that any adjust- 
ment of the tariff, upon principles satisfactory to the people of the TJnion, will, 
until a remote period if ever, leave the government without a considerable sur- 
plus in the Treasury, beyond what may be required for its current service. * * 

" To avoid these evils, it appears to me that the most safe, just, and federal 
disposition which could be made of this surplus revenue, would be its appor- 
tionment among the several States, according to their rates of representation ; 
and should this measure not be found warranted by the Constitution, that it 
would be expedient to propose to the States an amendment authorizing it," 
(Jackson's first annual message, 1829.) 

" * * * I have heretofore felt it my duty to recommend the adoption of some 
plan for the distribution of the surplus funds, which may at any time remain in 
the Treasury, after the national debt shall have been paid, among the States, in 
proportion to the number of their Representatives, to be applied by them to 
objects of internal improvement." (Jackson's second annual message, 1830.) 



21 

his allegiance should become a cemetery of freemen, than the 
habitation of slaves. With these high purposes, and patriotic 
feelino-s, he bee:an the agitation and continued it to the final 

7 O O 

consummation. The Virginia and Kentucky Kesolutions 
pointed to the remedy. He dared apply it, and saved the 
country and the Constitution. The State was armed to the 
teeth, and prepared for resistance. A stand of ten thousand 
small arms was added to those already in her arsenals, and a 
field battery purchased, as large as that used by the French at 
the siege of Antwerp. In 1832 Gren. Hayne resigned his seat 
in the Senate to be succeeded by Mr. Calhoun, and was elected 
Governor of the State. Mr. Calhoun resigned the vice-Presi- 
dency to take the place of Gen. Hayne, and Gov. Hamilton, 
as Major General, was placed in command of the volunteer 
forces. The Army and Navy of the Federal Government was 
quickly concentrated on the borders of South Carolina. Un- 
dismayed, he coolly and quietly proceeded to organize and arm 
his command. As he passed through the State his undaunted 
courage, indifference to danger, gallant bearing, and lofty 
patriotism became contagious. The masses were mesmerised. 
Armed and organized, the State, under his leadership, calmly 
awaited the issue. Mr. Verplanck's Bill, the Government plan 
of compromise, was not satisfactory to South Carolina. It 
proposed large reductions but did not concede the principle of 
protection. In January, 1833, Virginia despatched Benjamin 
Watkins Leigh as a Commissioner to South Carolina, ^^earnest- 
ly and affectionately requesting and entreating them to rescind 
or suspend their late Ordinance, and await the result of a com- 
bined and strenuous effort of the friends of Union and Peace, 
to effect an adjustment and reconciliation of all public dif- 
ferences now unhappily existing. At the same time she 
appealed to "the sense of justice" of the Kepresentatives of 
all the States, in Congress assembled, so "to modify" the 
Tariff Acts as "no longer to furnish cause of complaint to the 
people of any particular State." Simultaneously with this 
action on the part of Virginia, the "Compromise Bill" of '33 
was introduced by Mr. Clay. It abandoned the principle of 



22 

protection, the specific duties and minimums, and provided for 
a strictly revenue Tariff. The reductions were gradual, in order 
to ease off the system, and prevent the utter destruction of 
the manufacturing interests by too sudden a change. As Pres- 
ident of the Convention he re-assemhled it, and the Ordinance 
was repealed. 

Thus ended the great struggle between States-rights and 
consolidation, and Avith it terminated his connection with 
Federal politics. That the issue was bloodless is to be attrib- 
uted to the peculiar combination in him of extreme prudence 
and undaunted courage. An act of rashness or sign of faltering 
on his part would have involved the country in war, and pro- 
duced a dissolution of the Union in blood. From the nettle 
danger he had plucked the flower safely. His work was 
finished and he retired to private life, blessed and beloved by 
the entire State. By some he may have been regarded as a 
disunionist. They knew him not. Never did his heart cease 
to beat with love for the Union, till stilled by the icy hand of 
death. But it was the Union that he loved — the Union formed 
in '87. A Union between the States for certain specified pur- 
poses, set forth clearly in the Constitution. It was to prevent 
the destruction of that Union by the conversion of a Federal 
Kepublic into a consolidated despotism, that he struggled. 
The principles by which he saved that Union, timid patriotism 
acknowledged but feared to enforce. Designing demagogues 
and plunder-fed politicians alone misrepresented, denied, and 
denounced them. They now constitute the recognized creed 
of the Democratic Party. They knew him not, who supposed 
that in his heart there rankled any dissatisfaction or secret 
enmity towards the Grovernment of his country. There was 
nothing in that dark quarrel to bring the blush of shame to his 
cheek. Proud was his recollection of the past, and bright 
his anticipation of the future; Under his nurturing care the 
Palmetto, which had drooped beneath the withering influence 
of Federal Despotism, again spread its branches to the sun, 
green and luxuriant as in the lirightest days of its glory, and 



23 • 

tlie clouds of unconstitutional usurpation which had obscured 
the bright star of his State had been dissolved by the touch 
of his magic wand. He saw that Star in an unclouded sky 
again break upon the eye with more than its former brilliancy 
and beauty. • 

I cannot, as a Texian, conclude his political history without 
alluding brieflly to his connection with our struggle for Inde- 
pendence. In South Carolina, in 1836, no man stood higher 
in the confidence of the people than George McDuliie — the 
then Governor of the State. No one was more entitled to 
their confidence. Knowing nothing of Mexican politics, and 
of the real issue involved in the struggle, he judged of the 
people and their cause from his impressions of the character 
of the reputed leader of the revolution, or insurrection as lie 
considered it. With these impressions, thinking that nothing 
good could come out of Nazareth, he spoke in his message 
strongly against the Texas revolution, advised strict neutrality, 
deprecated recognition, and stated that "under whatever 
circumstances of adventure, speculation, honor, or infamy, the 
insurgents of Texas had emigrated to that country, they had 
forfeited all claim to fraternal regard;" that "having left a 
land of freedom for a land of despotism, with their eyes open, 
they deserved their destiny." The Committee on Federal 
Kelations, in the House of Kepresentatives, embodied his 
views in their Keport and Eesolutions, and they passed that 
House almost without opposition. Gen. Hamilton reached 
Columbia, the seat of government, after they had passed. He 
was then a member of the State Senate. He immediately, as 
chairman of the Committee on Federal Eelations in the Senate, 
introduced and carried, with equal unanimity. Resolutions 
negativing the Governor's propositions and those of the House 
Eesolutions, and before the end of the session, by his personal , 
influence and burning eloquence, the State was committed to 
the cause of Texas — her independence and annexation. He 
was soon vested with the rights of citizenship in Texas, and 
was offered the Command-in-Chief of her armies. His private 



24 

affairs prevented his accepting the Command. Otherwise I 
would not be indulging in hyperbole to say, 

" Her meanest rill, her mightiest river 
Would roll mingling with his fame forever." 

It was otherwise ordered ; but though his services may, in 
consequence, have been less brilliant, they were not less useful. 
Through his instrumentality chiefly her independence was 
recognized by the great European powers, and most important 
loans negociated. 

In conclusion, I will add, that to him the eyes of his native 
State had again turned in the present fearful oi'isis. Calhoun, 
Harper, Turnbull, Hayne, McDuffie, Miller, and Butler had all 
been gathered to their fathers. He remained. For twenty years 
he had retired from public life. Yet there was a feeling of 
security — Achilles was in his tent. When needed he was 
ready for the call. He is now gone — " like the summer dried 
fountain when their need was the sorest." 

I have done. The Executive has deemed it necessary, offi- 
cially, to inform us of this great calamity. I trust that the 
Kesolutions I have offered may be adopted. A great man has 
fallen, and it is proper that a nation should mourn. I feel my 
inability to do justice to the subject. What is said, is said — 
would it were worthier. 



Mr. QUINAN, of Brazoria, said : 

I would not be doing the duty I owe the people of the 
District I represent upon this floor, did I suffer the occasion to 
pass without expressing the deep sorrow they surely feel in this 
melancholy event. Gen. Hamilton, during his residence in 
Texas, made his home among us ; w^e claimed him as ours ; 
we felt justly proud to number him among our best beloved 
citizens ; and now, that we shall never see his face again, we 
mourn his sudden death as our own peculiar grief, and bewail 
his loss as the bereaved family laments the loss of its departed 
chief. Other gentlemen have spoken in fitting terms of his 
devotion to our country and his public services ; it becomes me 



25 ^ 

to make grateful mention of his private worth. For it was 
not so much his splendid fame, his eminent position, his bril- 
liant abilities, or his generous dedication of all these to the 
service Vf* Ihis loved land, as the amenity of his manners, the 
inbred* gentlemanliness of his nature, and the largeness of the 
heart that glowed within his breast, that endeared him to our 
people. He was, indeed, the very soul of honor ; he was a 
Grandison for courtesy ; he was a Bayard for chivalry ; he was 
an Alcibiades for courage, and his hand was ever open as the 
day to melting charity. While he resided with us, he main- 
tained the most generous hospitality ; the latch-string of the 
cabin at the Ketrieve plantation was never drawn in. The kind- 
ness, the simplicity, the charm of his daily life was wonderful. 
When he conversed with us, we forgot that we stood in the 
presence of one who had swayed the destinies of a great State, 
who had sat in the most august Senate in the world, and who had 
held high debate on great affairs with the chief men of the age. 
And it was these traits of his character which commended him 
to the affections of the Texian heart, and knit us to his deserv- 
ings as with hooks of steel. And now that we sensibly feel 
how much of the light of intellect, how much of the glow of 
genius and the fire of patriotism is gone out from us forever, 
our keenest grief is for the loss of the noble benefactor, the 
generous friend, the kind neighbor, and the true hearted gen- 
tleman whose dirge the sea nymphs are singing, and whose re- 
quiem is chanted by the hoarse waves that murmur above him. 

Alas ! sir, the race of such men is fast dying out. One by 
one they are passing away. But a few years, and they may live 
only in the legend of the annalist, or the pages of the historian. 
In this trading age, in the hard contest for wealth, or power, 
or fame, in the rude strife oO^gj^i^h are the tendencies of 



the times, that the charactera'^;gJbT«a>^e castinabasermould. 
No doubt we have enougli of talent and stirring and climbing 
energy, no doubt we possess a more enlarged knowledge and a 
deeper insight into the mysteries of science and of life, but we 
look well nigh in vain to find that rare union of splendid abil- 

D 



26 

ities and knightly virtues, of eminent position and simple com- 
tesy, of courage and gentleness, that wisdom of the heart as 
well as of the head, which formed the chief charm oLthsja,cQ, 
of men of which Gen. Hamilton Avas one of thelat^tiypes. 
It becomes ns to cherish the memory of such men, to keep 
alive our recollections of their character, and when we mourn 
their death, to take to heart the lessons illustrated in their lives. 
And this is the most fitting monument we can erect to the 
illustrious dead. Not alone in marble to perpetuate his fame, 
but ever and again recurring to the events of his career, dwell- 
ing upon its chequered incidents, and oft reciting to the listening 
ear of youth the story of his life, dilating upon the charm of 
his manners, the goodness of his heart, and the splendor of his 
talents — infuse into them an emulation of the virtues which 
graced his character. Then shall we raise not one Hamilton 
in sculptured stone, but many living sons in whom the spirit 
of Hamilton will breathe and burn. 

Mr. BRITTON, of Nueces, then arose and said : 

Mr. President : I beg the attention of the Senate one mo- 
ment. The intelligence of this melancholy event reached me 
so suddenly and unexpectedly, that I am free to confess when 
the subject came U]3 before us yesterday, knowing that the 
hearts of those I loved had been stricken with grief, I could 
not give utterance to the feelings of my soul. But, sir, I beg 
you, and the friends here and elsewhere, not to construe that 
silence into a want of feeling on this occasion; but to remem- 
ber that 

"The heart feels most when the lips move not." 

I have a letter written by the deceased but a short time 
previous to his death, which shows, as he was among the first 
whose sympathies were enlisted' for Texas, so were his last 
hours devoted to her interests and to her glory. That short 
note suggests a volume on the character and impulses of that 
great and good man. But, sir, I arise not for the purpose of 
passing an eulogy upon the merits of the illustrious dead; I 



27 

leave that to abler minds. I arise to assure the friends of my 
deep sympathy in this tlicir hour of affliction. 

" There is a time for rejoicing and a time for* mourning;" 
and, as in days that have passed and gone, I have mixed with 
my esteemed friends (from Harrison and Webb) my joys with 
their joys, I now come with a pure and contrite spirit to mingle 
my griefs with their griefs. 

The w^ays of Divine Providence are often veiled in impene- 
trable darkness from mortal vision; but there is a justice, a 
goodness, a mercy that pervades every dispensation. " Afflic- 
tions are oft in mercy sent," and while we mourn the loss of 
him whose spirit has been called hence, let us not forget that 
he has left indelible foot-prints for the good' man to follow; 
and above all, let us not forget the lesson it is intended to 
inculcate. 

I deem it not inappropriate here to say, that in this dispen- 
sation, from the prominence of the subject selected, the com- 
prehensive mind, the high legislative endowments, the patriot- 
ism, the All- wise Being has spoken forcibly to us Senators. 
Had you or I been at this time summoned from earth to His 
presence, I believe and know full well the tears of sympa- 
thising friends, (from our short association here,) w^ould have 
been kindly shed over our graves ; but, like all sublunary 
things, would soon have been obliterated from memory ; but 
He selected one who a long time had been, both in the field 
and in the councils of the nation, known as a pillar of strength. 

His voice then comes up from the dark blue waves that 
enshroud the honored remains of the lamented Hamilton, at 
a time when we are assembled here, where strifes and bickerings 
may excite the evil passions of men, and bids us merge them 
in an honest desire to promote the public good and happiness 
of our fellow men. And I appeal to each and every one to 
come forward with me, and in all our future actions sacrifice 
all unworthy motives on the altar of our common country, 
that we may be more acceptable to Him and beneficial to tliis 
His chosen people. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

Thursday, Novembp^r 26Tir, 1857. 



The Message of the Governor having been read, 

Mr. BEE rose in his place and said : 

Mine is the painful duty of responding to the message 
which has just been received from the Executive. 

The wail of woe comes to us from the ocean's depth, and 
mourning is over the land. Another of those terrible calami- 
ties^ which, so often of late, have shocked the sensibilities of 
the country, has occurred, and amongst its victims, Texas will 
hear, with sorrow, the name of James Hamilton. 

Gen. Hamilton's memory duty compels me to hold sacred. 
He was my godfather, and I bear his name ; and, when, under 
the symbol of that holy faith, from which, however widely I 
may have wandered, I have never forgotten, he stood by my 
parents as they dedicated me to a better life and a higher hope, 
he put me under sacred obligations, which I will now feebly 
and in deep sorrow, endeavor to redeem. 

From the first dawn of Texas' liberty. Gen. Hamilton has 
stood forth, her warm advocate and firm friend. In the Legis- 
lature of South Carolina, in 1836, he took issue with Gov. 
McDuffie, upon the question of sympathizing with struggling 
Texas, and passed, unanimously, in that body, and over the 
Executive influence. Resolutions, tendering to us the sympa- 
thy of that gallant State, endorsing the propriety of recogni- 
zing our independence, and even advocating annexation. Thus 



30 

brought prominently before the people of Texas, Gen. Hamil- 
ton was, in 1836, unanimously made a citizen, and oifered the 
command of her armies by the Congress of the Republic ; and 
I may say, without fear of contradiction, that, from that day 
to the date of his death, he has maintained that position — in 
every emergency, in every difference which has arisen ; whether 
with the enemies of our country, or with the general govern- 
ment, he has ever been found on the side of Texas. But I 
will not detain the House by a biography of the lamented 
deceased — this will be done by an abler pen. 

It is, in my humble judgment, proper that Texas should 
mark, on her records, her sense of this afflicting event, and 
tender her symjDathies to the heart-stricken and disconsolate 
widow of the deceased, with the prayer that she may be 
strengthened, in her bereavement, by the assurance of a nation, 
that he, whom she has lost, has well hlled his part, and gone 
to an honored grave, with a spotless name, lamented, revered 
and beloved, leaving to his sons the proud record of a well 
spent life, and to his country a life-long example of devotion 
to principle and her best interests. 

I move the adoption of the followiug resolutions : 

Resolved, That this body has received, with profound sensi- 
bility, the communication of the death of Gen. James Hamil- 
ton, of South Carolina. His death is a calamity, not only to 
the nation and his own State, but also to the State of Texas. 
He was the bold and powerful advocate of Texas in her dark 
and bloody struggle with the almost imperial 2:)0wer of Mex- 
ico. When the heroic spirits of '36 were treated, from high 
quarters, with opprobium, and as having forfeited all claims 
to fraternal regard from the people of the United States, he, 
then, in his place in the Senate of South Carolina, " with 
thoughts that breathed, and words that burned" with living 
fire, repelled the imputations on the purity and honor of our 
motives, and, in the light of eloquence and truth, gave such 
elevation to our controversy as to challenge the admiration of 



31 

the world, and to change indifference into friendship and en- 
thusiasm. For his services on that memorable occasion, he 
was offered, by Texas, the command of her Army. His genius, 
his pre-eminent abilities, liis high character, and imperishable 
devotion to the interests of the country, illustrated and adorned 
the various exalted civil trusts with which he was honored by 
the Eepublic as our Minister. He secured a treaty with Clreat 
Britain, tlie most powerful nation on the globe. He also ne- 
gotiated a treaty with the King of the Netherlands, and per- 
formed many other signal services with high honor to himself 
and great benefit to the nation which he represented. By 
special Act of Congress, he was invested with the rights of 
citizenship, and he ranks very high among the eminent and 
illustrious of her citizens. 

Resolved, 2nd. That this body will manifest its respect for 
the memory of the deceased, 'by wearing the usual badge of 
mourning, and that a copy of these proceedings be transmitted 
to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, 3d. That this House now adjourn. 

Mr. MUNSON said : 

As a ^Representative from the county in which the lamented 
G-en. James Hamilton has, for years, been a partial resident, 
I am unwilling that this solemn, sad occasion should pass with- 
out adding my humble tribute of respect to his honored 
memory. Little prepared, indeed, are his friends to receive 
the sad intelligence of his untimely death. 

His memory will ever live in his own native State, for, inti- 
mately blended with her history his name is written. But to 
us he was a friend. In our darkest, in our most trying hours, 
a gallant, noble friend, who never withheld his purse, his elo- 
quence, or his ablest efforts, when the almost hopeless cause of 
a struggling people invoked them. 

May Texas, never, in the hour of her prosperity, forget that 
generous, gallant spirit, that so cheerfully came to her rescue, 
Avhen all, with her, was doul^t and dansrer. 



J 



32 

I tender, Mr. Speaker, with profound respect, my heartfelt 
sorrow for the death of this lamented, distinguished man. 

Mr. BUCKLEY said : 

I feel constrained to rise on this occasion, and offer, together 
with the gentlemen from Webb and Brazoria, my condolence 
to the survivors of the family of the lamented Hamilton. 

It was not my fortune to be born in the same Carolina with 
him, but I was born in the sister State, and my earliest recol- 
lections in life are coupled with his name, in connection with 
his battling for the rights of the southern portion of the Con- 
federacy, for he stood prominently forward on all the great 
questions which involve those rights, when the South was 
brought into collision with the North. 

The impressions then made upon my mind, in early youth, 
are inseparably connected with the recollections dearest to my 
bosom. It fell to my lot, hap^^ily for myself, to become per- 
sonally acquainted Avith Gen. Hamilton, years before I emi- 
grated to Texas. And from that time to the period of his 
last visit to this country, he has been to me a kind friend on 
all occasions ; one who has imparted to me much instruction; 
one who has impressed upon my mind the ideas and notions 
proper to a man who lives in this country, and is devoted to 
its institutions. He has been to me a bright example ; one 
to whom I could look with confidence, as a guide on all sub- 
jects involving the principles of States' rights. My heart is 
too full — my frame too feeble — to say more than repeat, that 
I offer my condolence to the family of the deceased, in com- 
mon with the members of this House. 

On motion of Mr. Hart, one thousand copies of the Kesolu- 
tions, with the remarks of Messrs. Bee, Munson and Buckley 
attached, were ordered to be printed for the use of the House. 

The Resolutions were adopted, and the House adjourned 
till Friday, 10 o'clock A. M. 



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